Monday, February 25, 2008

Marion Cotillard made her American movie debut as Josephine in Tim Burton's Big Fish.

Cotillard is well-known in her native France for her performances in Luc Besson's Taxi (reprising her role in the equally successful sequels, Taxi 2 and Taxi 3), for which she collected her first Cesar nomination. She is equally recognized for her work in director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's romantic drama Un long dimanche de fiancailles (A Very Long Engagement), for which she won the Cesar in 2004 for Best Supporting Actress. She earned her second Cesar nomination in 2001 for Les Jolies choses (Pretty Things), under the direction of Gilles Pacquet-Brenner.

The daughter of working theatre actors (her mother runs acting workshops in Paris), Cotillard started her career at age sixteen, making her film debut in L'Histoire du garcon qui voulait qu'on l'embrasse (The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to Be Kissed). She played the title role in the 2001 production, Lisa, and more recently starred in Une Affaire Privee (A Private Affair), Jeux d'enfants (Love Me If You Dare:), Ma vie en l'air (Love Is in the Air), Cavalcade and Sauf le respect que je vois dois.

The busy actress also stars in the current and forthcoming releases Edy, La Boîte noire, Toi en moi, Fair Play and Abel Ferrara's Mary, which unspooled at the 2005 Venice Film Festival, walking off with the Special Jury Prize. She will next play Edith Piaf in La Vie en rose, and also has coming out in 2006 the features Le Concile de Pierre and Dikkenek.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Woman with the Longest Hair - Dai YueqinDai Yueqin shows her 4.2 meter-long hair in Tongxiang, east China's Zhejiang Province. Dai has kept her hair uncut for 26 years since she was 14 years old.

Woman with the Longest Hair - Dai Yueqin - Dai Yueqin shows her 4.2 meter-long hair in Tongxiang, east China's Zhejiang Province. Dai has kept her hair uncut for 26 years since she was 14 years old.It looks creepy and nasty, but this lady has one of the longest hair in the world. Reminds me of the Japanese horrow movie - The Ring, I wonder if all that hair would make it tougher for her to crawl through a tv.

Friday, February 15, 2008

For years, Bill and Hillary Clinton treated the Democratic National Committee and party activists as extensions of their White House ambitions, pawns in a game of success and survival.

She may pay a high price for their selfishness soon.

Top Democrats, including some inside Hillary Clinton's campaign, say many party leaders — the so-called superdelegates — won't hesitate to ditch the former New York senator for Barack Obama if her political problems persist. Their loyalty to the first couple is built on shaky ground.

"If (Barack) Obama continues to win .... the whole raison d'etre for her campaign falls apart and we'll see people running from her campaign likes rats on a ship," said Democratic strategist Jim Duffy, who is not aligned with either campaign.

The rats started looking for clear waters when Obama won Iowa, narrowly lost New Hampshire and trounced Clinton in South Carolina before holding his own in last week's Super Tuesday contests. He won Virginia's primary Tuesday and stood to claim Maryland and the District of Columbia to extend his consecutive win streak to eight.

Obama has won 21 of 33 contests, earning the majority of delegates awarded on the basis of election results. The remaining 796 delegates are elected officials and party leaders whose votes are not tied to state primaries or caucuses; thus, they are dubbed "superdelegates."

And they are not all super fans of the Clintons.

Some are labor leaders still angry that Bill Clinton championed the North American Free Trade Agreement as part of his centrist agenda.

Some are social activists who lobbied unsuccessfully to get him to veto welfare reform legislation, a talking point for his 1996 re-election campaign.

Some served in Congress when the Clintons dismissed their advice on health care reform in 1993. Some called her a bully at the time.

Some are DNC members who saw the party committee weakened under the Clintons and watched President Bush use the White House to build up the Republican National Committee.

Some are senators who had to defend Clinton for lying to the country about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Some are allies of former Vice President Al Gore who still believe the Lewinsky scandal cost him the presidency in 2000.

Some are House members (or former House members) who still blame Clinton for Republicans seizing control of the House in 1994.

Some are donors who paid for the Clintons' campaigns and his presidential library.

Some are folks who owe the Clintons a favor but still feel betrayed or taken for granted. Could that be why Bill Richardson, a former U.N. secretary and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, refused to endorse her even after an angry call from the former president? "What," Bill Clinton reportedly asked Richardson, "isn't two Cabinet posts enough?"

And some just want something new. They appreciate the fact that Clinton was a successful president and his wife was an able partner, but they never loved the couple as much as they feared them.

Never count the Clintons out. They are brilliant politicians who defied conventional wisdom countless times in Arkansas and Washington. But time is running out.

A senior Clinton adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak candidly, said the campaign feels the New York senator needs to quickly change the dynamic, perhaps by forcing Obama into a poor debate performance this month. That's grasping at straws, but the adviser said he can't see any other way that her campaign will be sustainable after losing 10 in a row.

The fear inside the Clinton camp is that Obama will win Hawaii and Wisconsin next week and head into the March 4 contests for Ohio and Texas with a 10-race winning streak. Her poll numbers will drop in Texas and Ohio, Clinton aides fear, and party leaders will start hankering for an end to the fight.

Clinton should find little comfort in the fact that she has secured 242 superdelegates to Obama's 160.

"I would make the assumption that the ... superdelegates she has now are the Clintons' loyal base. A superdelegate who is uncommitted today is clearly going to wait and see how this plays out. She's at her zenith now," Duffy said. "Whatever political capital or IOUs that exist, she's already collected."

Few Democrats wants to cross the Clintons when they're on top. But how many are willing to stand by them when they're down?

___

Ron Fournier has covered politics for The Associated Press for nearly 20 years. On Deadline is an occasional column.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Victoria Beckham has hammered the final nail in the Spice Girls’ coffin. The band has split–for good. Posh’s firm decision to quit the band in order to pursue a lucrative career in fashion designing made sure that the gig in Manchester a week ago was their final performance in the UK with their last ever concert in Toronto on February 26. Posh’s association with the band would now be limited to her looking at the pictures from the past, smiling and cringing to herself.

Now that sons Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz are convinced that mommy was actually a pop-star once, Posh has little interest left in the band. The Spice Girls, having lost the indispensable Posh, decided to sever their world tour.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Gwyneth Paltrow is another beautiful face with great long hairstyles. Gwyneth has a slight angular jaw line that doesn't phase any of her looks. The hairstyle in the image presented here is a very beautiful one for square shaped women. The hair is parted just a little off center with the shorter layers framing the face with light waves and the longer layers falling down with light waves. The ends are left choppy for a modern touch. A great look for many facial shapes but as seen in the image, very fitting for square shaped faces. <via>

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

2008 HairstylesThis year hairstyles have evolved from last year, but kept many of the underlying influences. This 2008 hairstyles can be long, short, any length that suits, there is a style for everyone.

Long hair can be sleek and straight, or styled with demure curls for a romantic effect. Updos are elaborate and often side swept for a dramatic look. The key to hairstyles in 2008 is condition. Shiney, well conditioned hai is a must and there are lots of hair treatment products you can use to get your hair in tip top shape. We recommend Redken hair treatments for a fantastic boost to dry or frazzled hair.

If you have short hair in 2008, then get creative. Rock chick punk looks are in, along with colors, especially reddish tones and highlights. Lots of choppiness adds to short hairs texture and gives a nice feminine look when cut well. Sideswept again looks good, and in 2008 fringes are definitely a la mode. Bold fringes that really frame the face make a change from more wispy fringes that were popular in 2007.

Bobs are still in in 2008, bobs with bangs, choppy bobs, colored bobs and whatever length suits. Very short bob hairstyles in 2008 are still popular, with many people sporting above chin level cuts, with lots of layering for texture, again 2008 hairstyles rely on great condition. Volume can be achieved using products, bu nothing beats a good cut and treatments to get your hair shining.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

The gorgeous green gown Keira Knightley wore in the film "Atonement" is being auctioned off to benefit Variety -- The Children's Charity of Southern California.

The Clothes Off Our Back Foundation will facilitate the online auction of the dress Knightley wore in the period romance, which is nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture and best costume design.

The auction begins Friday at the foundation's Web site www.clothesoffourback.org and ends March 1.

Bidding will start at $1,000.

"'Atonement' is an epic romance that has moved film goers, and garnered awards and acclaim, all over the world. As with our previous auction of the two shirts worn in 'Brokeback Mountain,' we are proud to give someone a chance to own a cherished part of a beloved film and in the process benefit the Variety charity," Focus Features CEO James Schamus said in a statement.